and water turns to ice, in elsipogtog, they're digging in for the winter and preparing for the next round. >> this is anu an al jazeera ama news special with tony harris. >> welcome to al jazeera america, president obama's speech is just three hours away. he has promised to take executive action to raise federal workers' pay. americans made their concerns known. polls show that people want to know more about jobs and improving the economy. record snow blanketing the

deep south. in just a few hours president obama will deliver his fifth state of the union dress to the stationthenation. libby casey has more. libby, over to you. >> reporter: expect the president to talk about income inequality, immigration reform and afghanistan. we have heard the president say he plans to use executive forward, some other refrains we'll hear tonight we heard before especially when it comes to the economy. the president spoke about the economy in last year's state of the union. >> create good middle class jobs. that must be the north star that guides our efforts. >> reporter: the middle class once again on his mind, tony, and the economy is doing better now.

the best it's ever done during the obama presidency. the question is will americans attribute that to his leadership? do they give the president credit for that. so far the poll numbers indicate they do not. could he turn that around and get some credit for how the economy has been faring. >> will he use executive orders to push forward his agenda teams. minute wagagenda. minimum wage is something he has spoke about before. >> he wants to raise minimum wage to $9. he also wants to tie it to the cost of living. here is what has happened since. nothing on the federal left, but

it haven't gone anywhere in congress yet. states have enacted raising the minimum wage this year but only a couple even hit $9. so he's moving forward on his own and we'll see if the senate can get some momentum building to get the minimum wage pass there had as well. >> libby, on capitol hill. thank you. time to check in with ali velshi. let's talk about this economy, a big picture, right? >> reporter: interesting what libby says. americans feel there is an recovery in place, but are they giving president obama credit for it? president obama gives his state of the union address in the midst of the economy that really started to pick newspaper the second half of 2013, but it still feels precarious to a lot of people. when you ask americans anything about the economy, they think of three things, their homes, their jobs, and their investments. let's focus on the latter two

right now. th9 unemployment rate went from 7.9% to 6.7%. but ignore this number a little bit and focus instead on the jobs added every single month. in the second half of 2013 about 200,000 jobs were being added every single month before fall to go just 74,000 in december. that is not very good at all. now, move over to the second stool, the second leg of prosperity, the investment front. 2013 looked fantastic. the stock market gained an amazing 29.6% in 2013. investors are feeling plush going into 2014. the only problem, tony, you know this, is that nearly half of all americans do not own or have any relationship to a single stock, so they haven't benefited from this remarkable, remarkable bull run, tony. now as president obama goes before congress tonight, he will

be addressing an america that is starting to see real signs of economic recovery, but too many people still feel weary about their financial security. this is six years since after the recession and. later we'll focus on the housing market, and how it did in 2014. but if you need me for anything else. >> yeah, yeah, yeah, good to know that. joining us from washington, former deputy secretary of labor seth harris. seth, it's good to see you. thanks for your time. it's good to talk to you. let's go over some of the material that ali just visited us with. some say there are huge gains for wall street, some banks have even gotten bigger and yet the unemployment is sub bornly high. can you explain this distext for

us. >> they'll say he wants to put forward an agenda that is an opportunity for all agenda, ladders of opportunity for every american, and i'm also going to say as libby set in her set up piece. if congress does not act, he'll use his pen, use his phone, and he'll act on behalf of middle class families who have not felt the recovery. >> let's go back to the answer a bit here. you mentioned that people are working harder and falling behind. and then there is the spector of wall street and the banks doing very well. why? >> we see from the growth of our

economy going from wall street so the wealthiest americans. cooperation profits are booming, but for us middle class working people have been flat for decades. real wages have only gone up 3%. so a lot of americans are feeling like they are being rest lind in thirest--left behind. >> to be on the right side of income equality and the middle class, what can he do about it other than giving speeches. >> libby said it and you said it, the president is going to announce that he's going sign an executive order to raise the minimum wage of employees of

federal contractors. he'll convene large employers and urge them to hire some of the 4 million americans who have been unemployed. congress just cut off the emergency compensation that was going to those members, and they'll get the benefits that they need to feed their families. they'll call on congress to invest in infrastructure and use existing resources in the administration to try to invest in creating jobs. he really cu does want to ask immediately. he's frustrated with the dysfunction of congress. >> this idea that you just laid out there, and i want you both in on this,ally and seth. do you believe you can get implementation of some of those ideas do you believe that thos s

will help the economy. >> this is the question, seth, we saw 74,000 jobs in december. with every great number we have we have an offsetting number somewhere else suggesting that the economy is not running on its own. maybe congress can't help it, but it can certainly hurt it by behaving the way it has behaved last year. >> the biggest anchor around the neck of the american economy is that families don't have enough to spend. 70% of our economy is built on consumption. but if working families, middle wage families don't have money to spend then our economy really can't grow. the reason why employers are hesitant to hire more aggressively even though they're eager to do it, they feel they

don't have enough demand in the economy right now. that's where the president will focus. he wants american workers to begin scales, learn wages, and have them opportunity, and that means putting money in their pockets, and that in turn will create jobs for the economy. >> that's. austerity, we can talk about that. thanks for joining us. ali will have a special report on middle class all next week. you can see "rebuilding the dream" on al jazeera. we'll go to mike viqueira with more on the political climate there, and it would be chilly at times. >> reporter: you might say that. you might say that it's toxic or as cold as the weather on the east coast right now, and as you

know it's doin dog gone cold. i've got a pen, says the president. i've got a phone. what does that mean? it has got limitations. the president will be talking about more in the house chamber for the state of the union address as for federal contractors, people who are not on the government payroll, it's only for new contracted a and will start next year to give people time to adjust. they couldn't do any other ways because they're legally bound. what is the political climate when he comes before the joins chief of staff and the diplomatic corp, and everywhere. the deeper we go in this year the tougher it will be to get anything done.

>> this year president obama walked into the state of the union a lame duck with the momentum gone. >> they call it the six-year itch. since reconstruction every president but one, bill clinton, has seen his party lose seats in congress each second term congressional election. >> this year the house looks like a sure bet to stay in reason republican. in the senate democrats could lose their majority. 36 of 100 seats are up for collection. republicans need a net gain of six to take control. the president's poll numbers are upside down. suggesting a majority of americans 52% disapprove of the

job he's doing. 44% approved. why should mr. bomb, after all, he rap his own campaign, which is exactly the problem. if he remain he remains, there o congressional votes to spare. with you also to move forward on his second term agenda and it's centerpiece. immigration reform. polls indicate most americans want it, and now even house republican leaders mindful of the polls and growing number of latino voters are showing signs they may be on board. but the deeper we go into this election year the greatest of urgency to get anything done before politics consumes anything. >> so the lesson here, if the president is going to get something done with congress, he'll have to do it soon.

>> mike viqueira for us. let's bring in kristi kristin k. i have a copy of the state of the union address and i want to read a portion of it to you. today after four years of economic growth, corporate prices and stock prices have rarely been higher and those at the top have never done better, but average wages have barely budged. inequality has deepened. you know the president will be speaking about inequality and assistance to the middle class, is the republican party willing to join the president in moving forward a middle class agenda in 2014? >> of course, and thanks for having me on. yes, we heard a lot about the inequality over the last several weeks. we know the president is going

to be talking about it. we heard him give a similar speech on inequality time and time again. i don't think it will be anything new. i think what will be interesting to see is what comes out of it after the speech is done. will it be words like we've heard so many times before that. yes, republicans are definitely at the table wanting to help middle class families, which is why there is legislation that is stalled that the republicans have passed half bipartisan. >> americans are telling us they want to hear more about jobs and ideas for improving the economy. republicans get an opportunity, of course, to respond to the president tonight. will we hear republican ideas for job growth or just a critique of what the president has had to say? >> i think there are plenty of ideas for job growth.

a lot of it has to do with what the president has put in place. a lot of it has to do with government regulation, that we need to get rid of it. a lot of it has to do with obamacare and get our healthcare system back on track. i think it's over 100 bills that have been passed out of the house, house of representatives that i think if we were to take a look at some of those pieces of legislation, and it were to move past the democrats and to the president i think we would see signs of progress. >> what is the message we keep hearing that this is the year for rebranding for republicans, and look, you're intimately involved in that rebranding effort, i'm sure. what is the pitch to groups that don't traditionally vote for republicans? >> i think it's opportunity for all. i think not having the government in our way whether it be small businesses, whether it be families. i think you're going to be seeing a lot more from our party

whether it be on congress, whether it be from the republican national committee. we had a meeting last week where we were starting to talk a little bit about what we were going to do out in the field as we worked towards some of these political and election wins in 2014, and what that means for the brand of the republican party. >> kristin, good to see you, thanks for the time. >> thank you. >> let's get you caught up on other news of the day. >> the story i'm leading with would be the lead were the president not addressing the country. of course we're talking about the weather. frigid weather is pressing deep in the south. look at this video, this is louisiana, not a place we usually see snow. several governors have declared state of emergency because of the weather. it has forced thousands of flight cancellations.

kevin corriveau is here with more. >> meteorologist: that's right, the weather is causing big problems asr as richelle said. five hour commuting delays is what we're seeing. there was three inches of snow that fell. in northern georgia that snow is coming down, but look at the ice. this is going to be a major problem. if you have to drive, it's going to be tricky. if you can do it tomorrow, it will be much better. the temperatures are at 22 degrees. this is where the front is, 35 in savannah. 80 degrees in orlando. a lot of watches and freeze warnings out there. a major problem. tony, a messy night. >> kevin, appreciate it. thank you. >> all right, day five of the syrian peace talks have come to an abrupt end. a mediator cut the session close

because a regime is angry over the u.s. providing aid to the opposition. the meetings are now deadlock while the humanitarian crisis grows much more severe. shortly after the government they repealed anticipate protest laws the moves are seen as major concessions to protesters after weeks of unlest. but opposition leaders say it is not enough. the demonstration started two months ago after ukraine's president announced closer ties to russia. two colorado cantaloupe farmers have been sentenced for their part of a deadly disease outbreak. the men will send six months to home detention. they pled guilty to charges of outbreak of listeria that started at their farm. it killed 33 people and dozens of others got sick. each man will have to pay $150,000 to the families of the

victims. that's it for now. >> richelle, appreciate it. coming up after the break heidi zhou castro reports to us from texas. >> we're looking at the state of the tea party. >> and the state of the union, the president warned about the congress defaulting on the country's debt. they did it once, will more stand offs be in the horizon?

>> the official republican state of the union response will come from representative kathy mcmorris rogers of washington state. but the tea party will put out it's own televised response from senator mike lee of utah. heidi zhou castro takes a look at the tea party and whether last year's government shutdown helped or hurt its re-election. >> i do not like green eggs and ham, i do not like them, sam i am. >> that was part of ted cruz's 21 hour marathon speech in the u.s. senate. although opponents belittled his crusade less than a week later the republican-controlled house brought the government to a halt and furloughed 800,000 workers for 16 days. >> when we defund obamacare we'll be happy, happy, happy.

>> reporter: the tea party lost that battle. obamacare opened on octobe october 1s. >> they're using our members and using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. >> but among the tea party grassroots supporters in texas, a different take. >> i like ted cruz. i think he's, you know, i think he has got nerve. he's not afraid to be--not afraid to be called a conservative. >> reporter: here in his home state of texas cruz became the overwhelming favorite for presidential nominee among republican primary voters. according to one study national tea party membership grew by 4% in 2013. >> their sense is that we're losing america. they don't think that legislat legislators even fairly conservative legislators are

angry enough about this. >> reporter: a fractured republican party may provide an opportunity for congressional tea party candidates who might otherwise have little hope of winning a primary. like katrina pearson. she volunteered for ted cruz's campaign and is now running for a house seat. she's up against pete session who is has 96% conservative rating from the american conservative union. >> i'm more conservative than pete sessions because i'm willing to fight for my principles. mr. sessions constantly waves ththe white flag. >> that race and others in 2014 appear to represent the internal fight going on for the future of the republican party. heidi zhou castro. al jazeera dallas. >> and joe watkins, former aid to president george w. bush.

joe, good to talk to you. >> thank you. >> let's stipulate that the shutdown hurt everybody across the board. >> it did. >> but how much did it hurt the republican brand. >> it didn't. it's the crisis of the moment that people remember. people were really upset for a moment about the government shutdown. then we had the roll out of the affordable care act, and americans suddenly forgot how angry they were about the government shutdown. >> it's true. there is no way around that. what are your thoughts about the president's speech tonight and the challenges in that address. >> reporter: i think the president is a talented speaker, so from the stand point of the way he gives his speech, i'm sure it will be very well delivered. he'll get the predictable applause from the democrats and even some of the republicans. but the question is at the end of the day will he be able to get his job done. will he be able to go it alone and build confidence in

americans that he'll be able to do anything different now than he did in the last six years. >> he said he'll go alone because he can't get republicans to join him. >> reporter: think about this, bill clinton faced what was clearly hostile republican congress. they threw white water at them and he was impeached by them, and he was able to get major reforms, welfare reform and a budget surplus. bill clinton did that with republicans when the republicans were against him. certainly president obama could be doing some of this. >> why hasn't this president been able to accomplish what you're telling me what former president clinton was able to accomplish. >> he has to talk more. he can't talk from a distance. he can't give just speeches. after the speech tonight he'll go out on the road tomorrow and

give more speeches. but he needs to talk to the house and senate behind closed door. talk about what you want to do. figure out where you can do a little bit of horse trading to get things done for the american people. >> you're going to be with us throughout the evening. >> correct. >> thanks. here at al jazeera america we will be live blogging the president's speech, and you can follow along with the #stou, statstate of the union. next up, the numbers and what it means for the president's address. and just because the president says he wants something doesn't mean it's going to lap. we'll take a look at what he called for in last year's state of the union speech, and how much of that actually got done.

>> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver. right here on al jazeera america. the congress to hopefully shed line on immigration reform as a path to citizenship. for the center of american progress, he's in washington d.c. this morning. and good morning, mr. fietz. >> good morning, del. >> are you confident that this year immigration reform passes and are you sure why it pass it's. >> i'm confident that the president will be talking about the importance of find of bipartisan agreement with this congress, and this is obviously the issue that seems more teed

up to have the senate has passed a bill by a bipartisan super majority and now it's up to the house to pass it. and we know that the pass republican conference is meeting in a retreat this week, and one of the things they will be discussing is how to move forward on immigration reform.

>> let's head back to washington, d.c. now. joie chen, the anchor of "america tonight," look, you're at the epicenter there in washington, d.c. of all the action tonight. it is roadblock coverage of the president. >> we're down the street, actually from the epicenter there tony. we see the state of the union as a zany night for us here in washington. this kind of qualifies as a super bowl for us. it brings out people eating cheetos and going to watch parties. and if you're a presidential groupy this is a big night. even members of congress want to rub elbows and shake hands with the president of the united states no matter what party they're from. they have an opportunity to do that as the whole nation

watches. chances of doing that is not easy, but one guy has made a real habit of it. a congressman who has been done that for the past 25 years, his name is eliott angle from new york. he stakes out his seat on the morning of the state of the union speech every time. he told us how he manages to save has spot every year. >> instead of going to my office i go to the house floor, and i stake out my seat, and the session doesn't usually begin until later. i make my phone calls. we set up appointments. i do meet people in the capitol. instead of meeting them in the office i use my phone. i'm reading my newspaper and doing the same things that i would be doing, but instead of doing it in my office i do it on the house floor. >> this will be congressman angle's 26th state of the union from that aisle seat. he must be a real new yorker because he knows how to get a good stake out seat.

we'll have more from our interview. the special tonight will air tonight. >> joie, good to see you and see you later tonight. look for president obama to rum tet an--to trumpet an improving economy. some sales surged back to their best level in seven years. but rising home prices could change that. >> reporter: joe is searching for the perfect starting home. but homes he likes do not fit his budget. >> whoa, they've got a master bath. >> that's like 359. >> and many of the homes i can afford i doesn't like. >> it's kind of sad when you walk into a place and like there

are holes in the ceilings, the floors are wonky. >> reporter: eager buyers, existing home sales topped 5 million this year. same while inventories dropped by the same percentage because of fewer foreclosures and home sales. it's hiding fire under prices. hard hit markets like las vegas, los angeles, and san francisco saw price increases topping 20%. and chicago, charlotte, and dallas posted their strongest annual increases in decades. while home prices are still below their pre-recession publ public. >> the increases are much faster than people's income growth. prices arriving at double digit

appreciate, income is rising barely 1% a year. >> buyers buy homes they can't afford face rising interest rates and tougher regulations. >> this is the lending rule that went into effect a week ago. they require consumers have enough income to pay off their mortgages. mortgage companies say the new rules cut the risk of default and add to the cost of the mortgage. >> across the industry at least 25 basis points or a quarter percent to the rate. >> reporter: even in the face of higher home prices and interest rates, business is booming. >> the amount of buyers--it's staggering how many people are out there looking out there. >> reporter: that has pressured some to buy a home fast. >> ali velshi is back with more

on what is happening in the housing market. >> reporter: as diane points out, house something proving a spectacular comeback from its ashes. that was fuel in large part by low interest rates. the amount of the economy in homes peaked in 2005 that's before it crashed. and since has fallen to 2.7%. remember when the housing market collapsed in 2007, that sent the country into a recession. since then as we have seen home prices have recovered. for 2013 the national median price for an existing home, that's the price at which half of all homes sell for less and half sell for more was $193,100. that was is the 11.5% increase from what we saw the year before. a lot of that was driven by mortgage rates. mortgage rates right now are 4.4%.

that's up about a full percentage point from a year a ago, but it's still a lot lower than it's been in some you time. house something a crucial determinant of the u.s. economy, and it has been growing very song. >> ali, thank you. you'll be joining us in this conversation in just a moment. i want to bring i in stan, it's good to see you, thanks for your time. what do you expect from the president's speech tonight. do you think it's going to be a thematic speech centered on wage and economy, or this lantry list of ideas and proposals. >> first, i think it's going to be a political speech designed more to show that the president is still relevant to the process. with that in mind he'll try to

do a variety of things that he can do on his own. highways been talking about it, things that the president can do without congressional approval and things that will put congress behind the eightball saying you have to work with me and make this happen. clearly the economy, and let me state this the right way. the economy but not the budget is likely to be the major topic. >> you know, i want to go back to your point that this will be a political speech. he has to pump wind into the sails of democrats, particularly senate democrats in this election term, doesn't he. >> oh, absolutely. there is some talk that they could lose. he'll create a platform that democrats can run to instead of running away from him. i don't think there is any doubt about it, this was done with congressional democrats. i don't think the democrats in the house have as much chance to take over the body, but they would like to get additional

seats. >> stan, as you know our colleague ali velshi is here and he has a couple of questions for you. >> good to see you my friend. the president is really pushing. talking about putting wind in those sails, he's talking about inequality, the middle class, and as i'm asking every expert who shows up on our air tonight, what exactly can he do on that front? >> well, ali, it's the right question because there isn't much he can do. if it involves spending or taxes that's something he can't do on his own. that's something that congress has to initiates. he can ask bu. >> if he can't do it, congress, the republicans in congress were hurt last year that led to a shutdown because they were not able to get ahold of the far right of their party. the tea party.

but everybody forgot about that when obamacare showed up. >> i disagree with joe. he said americans have a short-term memory. there are a lot of americans who remember the shutdown in '96. you saw the opinion polls, they got hurt badly and that's why they didn't try to shut down the government again. but it doesn't mean that there isn't a new era of bipartisanship because of that. there will have to be some bone thrown to the tea party. >> can't you make an argument that in the aftermath of the government shutdown, which we were talking about a moment ago, there have been a bunch of deals. >> well, short of a budget deal. it's not a new budget, that's the way congress is supposed to

happen. it's let's take the old budget off the shelf and pass it. >> and a bit of a farm bill. that suggests that perhaps there is some--i'm not going to suggest a lot of room--for some things. baby steps moving forward. >> baby steps isn't even adequate. there was a deal on the budget because it didn't do with anything controversial. it didn't deal with social security, medicare, the debt or taxes. other than that it was brilliant. it was designed to stop a shutdown but not to help the economy. if that's what we're talking about bipartisan cooperation how do you get immigration reform and tax reform. that's not going to happen over the next two o year, or two or . >> thank you. >> the president outlined

immigration, gun control and climate change but where do those issues stand now? let's bring in libby casey our capitol hill correspondent. gun control was a big topic at last year's speech. the president invited families of new town victims to attend. where does the president stand on that issue? >> reporter: only two months after the murder of children at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut, the president ended his speech calling for comprehensive gun control. he called for tightening back laws and limiting the size of clips. but that has not happened. and momentum has petered out in the spring. the president has gone with his own executive action to improve mental health information and background checks and congress did pass a plastic gun ban

renewal, something that has been in place for a long time. another topic, immigration. he called for comprehensive reform on that front. he wanted to see pathway to citizenship, and a way to legalizbringthe legal system. now it was dead in the water. now the president was able to take executive actions no longer deporting dreamers, young people brought to this country illegally as children, and he's worked on other ways on this issue. republicans are rethinking their strategy in advance of the midterm election. another topic is climb change. he called for a market base solution, cap in trade and he warned he would be moving

forward on some of his own executive actions using that pen and phone that he talked so much about in the last couple of weeks. he has gone forward on some of his own actions on pollution renewels, but cap and trade is going nowhere. even more democrats are not working on that issue any more. they're looking at things like renewables. when it comes to foreign policy the president didn't dwell on that much during last year's speech. one why he did focus was the war in afghanistan america's longest ongoing conflict. he promised to bring home troops, but he missed his goal by 5500. this is a pivotal year for relations between u.s. and

afghanistan and that will be something that the president will touch on. >> richelle carey with us. >> geneva. cutting sessions short. so far negotiators have been unable to move forward. as these talks go on activists say starvation, disease, violence still threaten many civilians in syria. pentagon officials say the air force cheating scandal is bigger than reported. the number of nuclear launch officers implicated in this investigation has nearly doubled to 70. the officers accused of cheating on proficiency chests or turning a blind eye on others who cheated.

>> nationwide 3,000 flights have already been canceled, tony. >> in tonight's speech the president may seek support for his democratic efforts with iran. that's been a problem even with members of his own party. for a look at what's at stake, we go to nick schifrin. in a deal to restrain iran's nuclear program, any sign that that will be a long-term change in relations between iran and the u.s.? >> well, that is absolutely the question, tony. as you know there has been so much mistrust between the united states and the iran, president obama is determined to find a thaw and he's determined to make the middle east and the nuclear deal work. the entire region will be watching whether this deal works because the risk of failure are high. after decades of iranian hatred

and american finger pointing the u.s. and iran are now tentatively shaking hands. here in geneva an historic deal limits iran's nuclear program in return for sanction relief. >> if iran is willing to walk through the door of opportunity presented to them, i have no doubt that it will open up extraordinary opportunities for iran and it's people. >> and for iran just last week a similar offer of reconciliation. >> no country can solve it's problems on its own while disregarding others. no business can achieve sustainable growth without adhering to its social responsibilities. >> reporter: but now the hard part begins. the u.s. wants to make a long-term deal, but that would require iran to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure but so far it has refused. >> are they prepared to stop

making centerfuges, or prepared for inspec inspections includine new heavy water reactor and enrichment facilities. and that remains to be seen. >> both sides are under political pressure. obama, congressmen want month sanctions. rouhani, they want more sanctions. >> that would suggest ignited sectarian strife throughout the region, i think there is some very serious down sides to a failed negotiation. >> reporter: so obama will continue the negotiations before the windows shut. >> they admit their plan to

impose sanctions has stalled so obama's diplomatic wind i windos open, but the challenge of getting a long-term deal next month in new york is very difficult and there is no guarantee that they'll be able to make that deal. and it will be much more difficult than the deal made a month ago. >> more international news for you. trouble in the middle east has distracted the obama administration from another big world player. china's in asia's pivot is next.

every day,

>> my colleague, there he is, john seigenthaler takes things over at the top of the hour anchoring the state of the union. he joins us from the museum in washington, d.c. john, over to you. >> hi there, tony, as you know this is a team he effort, and the focus is on washington, d.c. and house chamber. the state of the union is a little over two hours from now. we'll be sampling reaction from around the country and around the world. there are a number of issues that the president will be talking about tonight. coming up we'll discuss income inequality. ali velshi will take a deeper dive into that. we'll have a conversation with treasure secretary larry summers, and we'll talk to people who have helped previous presidents get ready for their state of the union addresses. all that coming up at 7:00 eastern time, and we'll be here after the speech as well until midnight eastern. tony, we'll see you a little

later. >> thank you. it's been four years since the obama administration announced plans to shift foreign policy focus from the middle east to asia. we asked melissa chan if that pivot really has happened. >> the uss george washington out on the pacific ocean, part of president obama's pivot to asia. by 2020 the plan is to shift a majority 60% of the country's warship to the region along with maintaining six aircraft carri carriers. this is one major reason, and some consider the only reason for the major pivot: china. >> every morning asia follows the same protocol. it's a combination of engagement

and hedging. >> japan has watched wearily has china has become boulder. the two countries are locked in a battle over disputed islands. for japan any claim brings feedback. so far the u.s. has demurred from taking sides. beijing takes possession of several islands in the south china seas but many asian countries worry that th the pivt is only lip service. when administration officials back pedaled and stopped calling

it a pivot, some allies wondered whether president obama has changed his mind opting for a softer approach. the u.s. and china are trading partners after all, and china has not welcomed the pivot considering the strategy encirclement. >> chinese, yes, they have a paranoia view whatever we do is an attempt to encircle them. you can say and layout look at all the ways in which we're not encircling you, we're engaging you. we have huge economic relationship with you. >> reporter: the obama administration still has a chance to put the asia pivot back on track. vice president biden bluntly reminded the emerging power, china, that the superpower, the united states, never left the region. >> the united states has a profound stake in what happens here because we need, we are, and we will remain a pacific power. >> it's one thing to move ships to sea. but it won't be with military

affairs but with trade. president obama would like to see an asia pacific trade zone but that could take years. >> this state of the union is something of a kick off to the 2014 midterm elections. both parties want to frame the election on their terms. the white house will try to help democrats tonight. david shuster joins us with more on that part of the story. >> reporter: tony, politics just as much a party of the speech as actual policy. if you think about it, more than 3 million people have now signed up with the president's signature legislation since he has become president, the obamacare exchange, but the president will talk more tonight about raising the minimum wage. here's why. on healthcare, dead weight for democrats. they repeatedly urged president not to spend very much time on that tonight. instead, take a look at the

polling on waging the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. just among republicans in the end keep in mind that the president and democrats want to reach out to independents and republicans, 52% support raising the minimum wage. putting focus on raising the minimum wage the republican leadership has so far blocked democrats believe they can put the g.o.p. on the defensive. democrats have urged president obama to get away from talking in-depth about income inequality. that's something that he has mentioned a lot in previous speeches, and pollsters note the discussion doesn't move voters as much as specific plans. so look for specifics from the president. minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits, helping to make college for affordable. keep in mind as much as those

politics speeches as policies. >> he has to generate wind into the sails of democrats. we'll know better in june and july, nobody can predict anything now. >> this sets the primarily agenda and discourse tonight. >> it's interesting the president may not mention the affordable care at much tonight. that's amazing because that is his signature piece of legislation. but the botched rollout, and it makes it a little-- >> this could also be one of the most adversarial state of the union speeches. we'll talk more about that in the 7:00 hour. again, some usual things he has done over the past couple of days leading into the state of union makes perhaps a dramatic

confrontation. we'll talk more about that in the next hour. >> let's get there. this wraps up this hour of coverage. i'm tony harris. we'll go to john seigenthaler in our nation's capitol. this is al jazeera america. al jazeera america presents... award winning films telling stories... >> she doesn't wanna come as someone who was manipulative. >> revealing secrets... >> information became our most powerful weapon... >> taking chances... >> everyone that was involved in the clandestant movement, had a code name. >> each week, a new eye opening experience. >> now they're going to go to jail... >> al jazeera america presents... remarkable documentaries

the state of the union on al jazeera america. join us for complete coverage of the issues facing all of us from health care and immigration to the economy an national security. we're talking with those affected most. understanding where we are, taking a critical look where we're going. >> there is much progress to

report. >> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver. right here on al jazeera america. >> tolling a year of showdowns. >> delay obamacare for one year. >> and shutdown. >> congress has not fulfilled it's responsibility. >> the three branches of the united states government gather under one roof for the president's state of the union address. under that roof a house divided. >> the state of our union is strong. >> president obama promises to use tonight's speech to usher in a new era of optimism. al jazeera america special coverage of the state of the union continues